


Sicarii

by Islair



Series: Sicarius through the wormhole AU [1]
Category: The Emperor's Edge Series - Lindsay Buroker
Genre: Alternate Universe, Past Rape/Non-con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-12-06 01:50:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11590515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Islair/pseuds/Islair
Summary: Set in an alternate universe in which Sicarius falls through a wormhole to another world at the end of Encrypted.Eventually he finds a way back home, but ten years have passed.He sneaks into the Imperial Barracks to visit Sespian, but discovers that Raumesys and Hollowcrest have started training a new assassin...





	Sicarii

**Author's Note:**

> Having had Sicarius stuck in my head for MONTHS now, the half-written stories are spiralling further and further out from the original setting. Eventually I may get his previous ten years' adventures in this AU into a written form that isn't too embarrassing to show to other people.

The dark corridors of the Imperial Barracks are quiet and empty in the early hours. It has been ten years since he was last here, but the place is filled with so many memories it feels as if he had never left. Never fallen through a hole into the other world.

Here is the office where he read his first Starcrest novel by candlelight. Up there is where he used to hide from Hollowcrest to steal a few moments to himself. And over there is where Pike... No. Some memories must stay buried. Even after ten years of healing.

And there behind that door was his own room. Where the Princess Marathi came to him one night. Where his son was conceived.

His son. Sespian must be nearly 11. By now he must have his own rooms in the Royal Suite.

But wait. There is a quiet sound, from behind the door that was once his. The muffled sounds of a child trying not to sob out loud. Trying and failing.

He glides to the door and listens intently. Old habits of mind and body reassert themselves as he stills himself the better to hear. Yes, a child sobbing, face buried in something - a pillow? - to deaden the noise. But not deadened enough to evade his sharpened assassin's hearing.

He silently opens the door a crack. A skill mastered long ago on this very door, to allow escape in the dead of night to explore undetected.

The room is almost unchanged. A bow and a full quivver still rest against the far wall. Oil, whetstone and cloths for cleaning and sharpening of knives sit on the meagre desk next to a pile of schoolbooks. And a small figure dressed in black lies on the simple cot bed with his face buried in the pillow. His hair is short and black, his skin paler and sallower than average for a Turgonian.

He silently enters the room, closing the door behind him, and creeps over to the distressed young boy. Crouching by the bed, he reaches out and gently places a hand on the boy's shoulder.

The reaction is instantaneous. The boy throws himself up into a crouch, back against the wall. A dagger in each hand. His almond-shaped eyes stare at the stranger who has somehow managed to creep into his room unnoticed. He schools his face to hide the tears.

"Who are you?" the boy asks, in an urgent whisper.

"I am Sicarius." the man replies.

The boy's eyes widen. "I am Sicarius too."

The man nods. "This used to be my room once. I kept a box of my drawings and other keepsakes in the niche behind the loose brick that can only be reached from the rafters, up at the top of that wall."

The boy nods. "Yes. I found them. I keep my treasures there too. Your drawings are very good."

The man sighs, reflecting on past injusticies. "Hollowcrest would confiscate my pencils and drawings if he caught me with them."

The boy replies. "He confiscates my notebooks where I write down stories I make up."

"How old are you?" asks the man.

"Seven." replies the boy.

"On my seventh birthday, Hollowcrest took me to Pike for the first time. He burned me with branding irons all over. I cried out in pain, and so they whipped me for that too. Then Pike pinned me down on the table and raped me."

The boy's tears are flowing freely again. He puts away the daggers, and wraps his arms around himself. "They did that to me too." he says almost inaudibly.

The man reaches an arm towards him. He gathers the boy into his arms and rocks him gently, hushing his tears. "The memories fade with time. The pain will lessen."

"Are you here to rescue me?" The boy asks, between sobs.

"Yes." The elder Sicarius answers emphatically. "No child should have to endure what was done to me. I will find a family to raise you."

"Can't I stay with you? You understand."

"I have no experience in raising children. I would not want my inexperience to cause you unhappiness. Gather your belongings. We have another boy to rescue tonight."

Wiping away tears, the younger Sicarius quickly packs his few belongings into a rucksack.

"We need to find Prince Sespian. Do you know which room he sleeps in?"

The boy nods. He leads the way.

 


End file.
